42

Rev.Adv.Mater.Sci. 17(2008) 42-61 Smita Badur and Rubina Chaudhary

UTILIZATION OF HAZARDOUS WASTES AND

BY-PRODUCTS AS A GREEN CONCRETE MATERIAL
THROUGH S/S PROCESS: A REVIEW

Smita Badur and Rubina Chaudhary

School of Energy and Environmental Studies, Devi Ahilya University, Takshashila Campus, Khandwa Road,
Indore-452001, M.P., India
Recieved: January 08, 2008

Abstract. The disposal and treatment of hazardous industrial waste is very costly affairs for the
industries, it has been a dormant issue. The new millennium brings challenges for the civil and
environmental engineers and opportunities for research on the utilization of the solid waste and
by-products and basic properties of concrete and its materials. The recycling of waste and by-
products attracts an increasing interest worldwide due to the high environmental impact of the
cement and concrete industries. Normal concrete is manufactured using sand and stones, but
lightweight concrete can be made by using industrial by-products and hazardous solid wastes
such as expanded fly ash, slag, sludge, etc. The Best Demonstrated Available Technology (BDAT)
stabilization/solidification (S/S) can be used for treatment of concrete contaminated solid hazard-
ous wastes and by-products. The performance of concrete is measured in terms of physical, engi-
neering, and chemical properties.
The review describes how chemical and mineral admixtures help in the improvement of the light-
weight concrete properties. Cement is replaced by the 15-35% fly ash in the concrete mix. Fly ash
increases concrete strength, improves sulfate resistance, decreases permeability, reduces the
water ratio required, and improves the workability of the concrete. Partial substitution solid hazard-
ous waste does not strongly affect the strength of concrete and other properties. This mixed light-
weight concrete is safe enough to be used in sustainable environmental applications, like road-
beds, filling materials, etc.

1. INTRODUCTION activated by the passage of the Resource Conser-

vation and Recovery Act (RCRA) [5]. Already ac-
Due to environmental degradation, high energy
cumulated solid wastes and increasing annual pro-
consumption, and financial constraints, various or-
duction are a major source of pollution.
ganizations in India and abroad, as well as United
In different countries, some of such wastes are
States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
used for landfilling abandoned quarries and mines
have recommended various qualitative guidelines
and adopting alternative method. The hazardous
for generation, treatment, transport, handling, dis-
solids and sludges require a secure chemical land-
posal, and recycling of non-hazardous and haz-
fill. Research has been conducted to recycle valu-
ardous wastes [1–4]. It is now a global concern, to
able material and reduce the volume of hazardous
find a social, techno-economic, environmental
solid waste and other pollutants, which is harmful
friendly solution to sustain a cleaner and greener
for living organisms. For the industries, disposal of
environment. The environmental technology, dis-
sludge is very costly method, due to long-distance
posal and treatment of hazardous industrial waste
transportation and the use of illegal or question-
has been a dormant issue that has recently been
Corresponding author: Rubina Chaudhary, e-mail: rubina_chaudhary@yahoo.com

© 2008 Advanced Study Center Co. Ltd.

Utilization of hazardous wastes and by-products as a green concrete material through...
Fig. 1. Relationship of mix proportion with strength & W/C ratio, workability & water, cost &cement. Data
from [25].
able disposal methods. The industries are trying to
reuse solid waste material on the construction sites
[6,7].
In recent years, the utilization of solid waste is
the challenge for the civil and environmental engi-
neers to utilize economic friendly supplementary
cementitious materials produce at reasonable cost
with the low possible environmental impact. The
use of Supplementary Cementitious Materials
(SCM) for e.g. Fly Ash (FA), Granulated Blast Fur-
nace Slag (GBFS), Silica Fume (SF), Activated
Metakaolin (AM), etc. which can improve various
properties in fresh and hardened state of concrete
and also increase the cost of construction. It is now
the global concern to making economic friendly ma-
terial product at lower cost with less harmful effect
on environment [8]. Addition of cost saving materi-
als by the replacement of considerable amount of
cement reduces CO2 emission during the manu-
facturer of Portland cement [9,10].
In India around 960 millions tonnes of solid
waste is being generated annually as by-products
during industrial, mining, municipal, agricultural,
and other processes. It is important to use develop
technologies for the utilization of solid waste con-
sumption in concrete. Concrete preferred for con-
struction, which is very durable require little or no
maintains. The assumption is largely true except
when it is subjected to highly aggressive environ-
ment. We build concrete structure in high polluted
urban and many other hostile conditions where
other construction materials are found to be non-
durable. Recently the uses of sludge in concrete
have spread it to highly harsh and hostile condition
[11-13].
43
The extensive use of fly ash, which is abundant
in India, to meet the current construction demands
and to decrease the environmental damage. In the
past decades concrete vastly used in mega con-
struction project in the country. [11]
Objective of review
Review focused on utilization of industrial solid
wastes and by–products (heavy metals bearing)
as concrete ingredients and also discussed the
mechanical and chemical properties of concrete
through solidification/stabilization process.
2. CONCRETE
Concrete is an artificial conglomerate stone made
essentially of Portland cement, water, sand, and
aggregates. The mixing of all the materials is placed
into a plastic form; a chemical reaction called hy-
dration takes place between the water and cement,
and concrete normally changes from a plastic to a
solid state in about 2 hours. Theoretically, if kept in
a moist environment, concrete will gain strength in
practical terms (about 90%) in the first 28 days.
The product cannot be treated as concrete unless
all these steps are realized [14 -21].
2.1. Chemistry of concrete
Concrete industry is particularly important, since it
is not only responsible for consuming natural re-
sources and energy, but also for its capacity of
absorbing other industrial waste and by-products.
Ordinary Portland Cement + H2O + Sand + Aggre-
gates → Hardened Concrete + Energy (Heat)
44
Fig. 2. Influence of water-cement ratio and grade
of ordinary portland cement on the 28 days com-
pressive strength of concrete.
The cement used in concrete is not used as a
building material because it would be too expen-
sive and not as strong as concrete [22]. Concrete
can sometimes contain other substances; such as
fly ash from industrial smoke stacks, which can
change its properties.
When water is added to cement, each of the
compounds undergoes hydration and contributes
to the final concrete product. Only the calcium sili-
cates contribute to strength. Tricalcium silicate is
responsible for most of the early strength (first 7
days). Dicalcium silicate, which reacts more slowly,
contributes only to the strength at later times. The
equation for the hydration of tricalcium silicate is:
Tricalcium Silicate + Water → Calcium Silicate Hy-
drate + Calcium Hydroxide + Energy (Heat)
The majority of space is filled with calcium sili-
cate hydrate. That which is not filled with the hard-
ened hydrate is primarily calcium hydroxide solu-
tion. The hydration will continue as long as water
is present and there are still unhydrated compounds
in the cement paste.
Dicalcium silicate also affects the strength of
concrete through its hydration. Dicalcium silicate
reacts with water in a similar manner compared to
tricalcium silicate, but much more slowly. The heat
released is less than that by the hydration of
tricalcium silicate because the dicalcium silicate is
less reactive. The products from the hydration of
Smita Badur and Rubina Chaudhary
dicalcium silicate are the same as those for
tricalcium silicate:
Dicalcium Silicate + Water → Calcium Silicate Hy-
drate + Calcium Hydroxide + Energy (Heat)
The other major components of portland ce-
ment, tricalcium aluminate and tetracalcium
aluminoferrite also react with water. Their hydra-
tion chemistry is more complicated since it involves
reactions with the gypsum as well. Because these
reactions, treated the hydration of each cement
compound independently, do not contribute signifi-
cantly to strength this statement is not completely
accurate. The rate of hydration of one compound
may be affected by varying the concentration of
another. In general, the rates of hydration during
the first few days ranked from fastest to slowest
[23]:
Tricalcium aluminate > tricalcium silicate >
tetracalcium aluminoferrite > dicalcium silicate
2.2. Mix proportion of concrete
Water, sand, and aggregate or crushed stone used
in concrete production in addition to cement are
also abundant. With all of these raw materials, the
distance and quality of the sources have a big im-
pact on transportation energy use, water use for
washing, and dust generation [24].
A low water-to-cement ratio is needed to
achieve strong concrete. It would seem therefore
that by merely keeping the cement content high,
one could use enough water for good workability
and still have a low W/C (Water/Cement) ratio. The
problem is that cement is the most expensive
among the basic ingredients [21,25]. The dilemma
is easily seen in the schematic graph of Fig. 1.
2.3. Ingredients of concrete
2.3.1.Cement
Grey cement produced by us consists of Ordinary
Portland Cement (OPC) and Portland Pozzolana
Cement (PPC). OPC has three principal grades
that are differentiated by their compressive
strengths, and consist of 53, 43, and 33 OPC (Fig.2)
[21]. W/C ratio based on the grade of cement for
the medium strength of concrete [26] shown in fig.
2. The raw materials used in cement production
are widely available in great quantities. Limestone,
marl, and chalk are the most common sources of
calcium in cement (converted into lime through cal-
cinations). Common sources of silicon include clay,
Utilization of hazardous wastes and by-products as a green concrete material through...
sand, and shale. Minimum cement content in con-
crete is 1 m3 [21].
2.3.2. Sand (fine aggregate)
The fine aggregate or sand may be natural or
crushed. It may be available in a riverbed or in a
quarry. The size of sand particles varies from a
maximum of 4.75 mm down to 150 micron. Good
sand must contain all the particles within the above
range, that is, it should be graded sand. The sand
may be sieved through the following Indian Stan-
dard Sieves [21]: 4.75 mm, 2.36 mm, 1.18 mm,
600 micron, 300 micron, and 150 micron. The sand
may be classified as very coarse (zone I), medium
coarse (zone II), coarse (zone III), and fine (zone
IV) depending upon its grain size distribution. The
sand samples were first sieved through 4.75 mm
sieve and the larger particles were removed. River
sand is very fine and is not suitable for concrete
work (Table 1). It may be used for plastering only
with the addition of some coarse sand. Very coarse
sand is also unsuitable for concrete work. It may
be used with the addition of finer sand. Coarse sand
should be used in the structural work that is, beams,
slabs, columns, and foundations, etc. [27].
2.3.3. Aggregate (course aggregate)
Aggregate is the solid particles that are bound to-
gether by the cement paste to create the synthetic
rock known as concrete. Aggregates can be fine,
such as sand, or coarse, such as gravel. The rela-
tive amounts of each type and the sizes of each
type of aggregate determine the physical proper-
ties of the concrete [28].
Sand + Cement Paste = Mortar
Mortar + Gravel = Concrete
Amongst all the materials, which are used, ag-
gregates are very important. The quality of aggre-
gates is very important since they make up about
60 to 80% of the volume of the concrete; it is im-
possible to make good concrete with poor aggre-
gates. The grading of both fine and coarse aggre-
gate is very significant because having a full range
of sizes reduces the amount of cement paste
needed. Well-graded aggregates tend to make the
mix more workable as well. The bond between the
paste and aggregate tends to set an upper limit on
the strength of concrete. Bond is influenced by the
surface texture, particle size and shape, and clean-
45
Table 1. Color and water absorption in different
type sands.
Colour Water Absorption in percent
Blackish 0.5%
Grey 2%
Reddish 1%
Pinkish 1.25%
Brownish 0.5%
liness of aggregate. Cement paste normally bonds
better to a rough textured surface then to a smooth
surface. Angular particle and those having rough
vesicular surface have a higher water requirement
then rounded materials. Nevertheless, crushed and
natural course aggregate generally give substan-
tially same compressive strength for a given ce-
ment factor. The angularity of the aggregate may
cause stress concretion that affects the perfor-
mance of concrete. Moreover, the strength of ag-
gregate and its porosity affects the mechanical
behavior of concrete from both strength and duc-
tility point of view. These effects contribute to the
failure pattern of concrete and determine its be-
havior under lateral pressure [21,29,30].
The accuracy of aggregate measurement by
volume depends upon the accuracy with which the
amount of “bulking”, caused by moisture in the ag-
gregate, can be determined. The amount of bulk-
ing varies not only with different moisture contents
but also with different gradations. Fine sand, for
example, is bulked more than coarse sand by the
same moisture content. Furthermore, moisture
content itself varies from time to time, and a small
variation causes a large change in the amount of
bulking. For these and other reasons, aggregate
should be measured by weight rather than by vol-
ume whenever possible. To make grading easier,
to keep segregation low, and to ensure that each
batch is uniform, it should be stored and measured
coarse aggregate from separate piles or hoppers.
The ratio of maximum to minimum particle size
should not exceed 2:1 for a maximum nominal size
larger than 1 inch. The ratio should not exceed 3:1
for a maximum nominal size smaller than 1 inch.
46
2.3.4. Admixtures
Sometimes, other materials are incorporated into
the batch of concrete to create specific character-
istics. These additives are called admixtures
[21,23]. Suitable materials known as admixtures
may be added to concrete mix, just before or dur-
ing mixing, to modify one or more properties of
concrete in plastic or hardened state as desired.
Admixtures may be used for the following purposes:
• To increase the workability
• Without changing / increasing the water content
• To increase strength
• To retard the initial setting time, and
• To increase water tightness.
Admixtures are chemicals, which are added to
the mix to achieve special purposes or to meet cer-
tain construction conditions [25]. Chemical admix-
ture works as accelerator (Table 2).
Chemical admixtures: Accelerating admixtures,
retarding admixtures, water reducing admixtures,
air entraining admixtures, and super plasticizers.
A plasticizer may be sulfonated naphthalene or
melamine formaldehyde based.
It is necessary to select a suitable type of ad-
mixture, quantity, and mixing procedure depend-
ing upon the other materials and requirements. Trial
mix should be prepared and tested for slump at 30
minutes and strength 7 and 28 curing days. It is
important to note that an admixture is effective only
when the aggregate are clean. It is possible that
some admixtures may not yield the desired results
because of the use of particular cement and ag-
gregate, and under the given environment [31].
Chemical admixture also affected the properties
of concrete with accelerating and retarding air and
entraining water admixture. The addition of Na2SO4
increases the strength of concrete and the activity
of Na2SO4 depends upon the curing days (3, 7, 28
days) and grinding [32].
2.3.4.1. Superplasticizers
Concrete’s strength may also be affected by the
addition of admixtures. Admixtures are substances
other than the key ingredients, which are added
during the mixing process. Some admixtures add
fluidity to concrete while requiring less water to be
used. An example of an admixture that affects
strength is superplasticizer. This makes concrete
more workable or fluid without adding excess wa-
ter. A list of some other admixtures and their func-
tions is given below. Note that not all admixtures
increase concrete strength. The selection and use
Smita Badur and Rubina Chaudhary
of an admixture are based on the need of the con-
crete user [21].
2.3.4.2. Retarders
Retarders are used to slow the set of concrete when
large masses must be placed and the concrete
remain plastic for a long period of time to prevent
the formation of “cold joints” between one batch
and the other batch of concrete. Accelerators serve
to increase the rate of strength gain and to decrease
the initial setting time. This can be beneficial when
concrete must be placed on a steep slope with a
single form or when it is desirable to reduce the
time period in which concrete must be protected
from freezing. The best known accelerator is cal-
cium chloride, which acts to increase the heat of
hydration, thereby causing the concrete to set up
faster. [21,25]
2.3.5. Water
The major factor controlling strength, everything
else being equal, is the amount of water used per
bag of cement. Maximum strength is obtained by
using less amount of water, and no more, required
for the complete hydration of the cement. As pre-
viously mentioned, however, a mix of this type may
be too dry to be workable [21]. Concrete mix al-
ways contains more water than the amount required
attaining maximum strength. The amount of ex-
cess water decreases the strength of concrete. The
specified water-cement ratio is the perfect medium
between the maximum possible strength of the
concrete and the necessary minimum workability
requirements.
The strength of building concrete is expressed
in terms of the compressive strength in pounds per
square inch (psi) reached after a 7 or 28 day set-
ting. This is usually referred to as probable aver-
age 7 day strength and probable average 28 day
strength [33]. The degree of cement hydration in-
creased with time and temperature, but the in-
crease beyond 28 days was not significant [34].
2.4. Grades of concrete
Various grades of concrete are specified:
• Ordinary Concrete - M10, M15, M20;
• Structural Concrete - M25 to M55;
• High Strength Concrete - M60 to M80 [35];
The minimum average compressive strength of
M20 grade concrete (15 cm cube) at 28 days should
be 20 MPa (20 N/mm2). The mix type 1:2:4 is com-
monly used for M15 concrete; 1:2:4 means 1 part
Utilization of hazardous wastes and by-products as a green concrete material through...
of cement, 2 parts of sand, and 4 parts of aggre-
gate by volume. The problem is that the quality of
sand and aggregate vary greatly from one place to
another. Therefore, the same ratio of 1:2:4 can’t
be expected to give a good quality of concrete with
different types of sand and aggregate. The materi-
als should always be measured by weight to pre-
pare concrete. A richer concrete, that is, a con-
crete with a higher cement ratio is stronger and
more durable [20,36-40].
K. Srinivasa Rao et al. [41] showed that a High
Strength Concrete (HSC) which was develop by
ACI mix design method was used to achieve a mix
with a compressive strength of 60 MPa. Mix pro-
portion used was 1:0.94:1.35 and W/C ratio 0.25,
the size and shape of concrete were cube
(150x15x150 and 100x100x100 mm) and cylinder
(300x150 mm). This concrete was tested by differ-
ent parameters on different ages (1, 3, 7, 28, 56,
91 Days). Small change in compressive strength
after 28 days and no change in compressive
strength after 56 days were reported.
2.5. ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF
CONCRETE
2.5.1. Unconfined compressive
strength (ucs)
Unconfined compressive strength depends upon
many factors, including the quality and proportions
of the ingredients and the curing environment. The
most important indicator of strength is the ratio of
the water used compared to the amount of cement.
Basically, the lower this ratio is, the higher the final
concrete strength will be. (This concept was de-
veloped by Duff Abrams of The Portland Cement
Association in the early 1920s and is in worldwide
use today). A minimum W/C ratio (water to cement
ratio) of about 0.3 by weight is necessary to en-
sure that the water comes into contact with all ce-
ment particles (thus assuring complete hydration).
In practical terms, typical values are in the 0.4 to
0.6 ranges in order to achieve a workable consis-
tency so that fresh concrete can be placed in the
forms and around closely spaced reinforcing bars
[21,25]. Compressive strength depends on the
curing time [42,43]. Concrete showed small change
in compressive strength after 28 days and no
change after 56 days [41]. Strength enhancement
of gravel reaches 97% at the 2.8% volumetric ra-
tio. The roundness of aggregate assists to distrib-
ute the lateral confinement and helps the concrete
element to experience higher stress [44]. The
strength is increases because the formation of
47
secondary Calcium Silicate Hydrated (CSH) gel
[45].
Placing of concrete is also very important pro-
cess. It is the process of transferring of fresh con-
crete from the mixing or conveying device to its
final place in the forms. The method of placing
should be such that segregation, displacement of
forms avoided. Prior to placing loose rust must be
removed, forms must be cleaned, and hardened
surfaces of previous concrete lifts must be cleaned
and treated appropriately [20,31,36-40].
The strength of concrete is strongly dependent
upon the hydration reaction just discussed. Water
plays a critical role, particularly the amount used.
The strength of concrete increases when less wa-
ter is used to make concrete (Fig. 3). The hydra-
tion reaction itself consumes a specific amount of
water [23].
2.5.2. Durability [freezing thawing
resistance].
Durability is the ability of concrete to resist weath-
ering action, chemical attack, abrasion and/or any
other process of deterioration. Durable concrete
will retain its original form, quality, and serviceabil-
ity when exposed to its environment. Factors re-
sponsible for aggravating or deterioration of con-
crete are: freezing and thawing, aggressive chemi-
cal exposure, abrasion, corrosion of metals and
other materials embedded in concrete, alkali ag-
gregate reaction, high temperature and poor work-
manship [21].
The durability of concrete refers to the extent to
which the material is capable of resisting deterio-
ration caused by exposure to service conditions.
Concrete is also strong and fireproof. Ordinary
structural concrete that is to be exposed to the el-
ements must be watertight and weather resistant.
Concrete that is subject to wear, such as floor slabs
and pavements, must be capable of resisting abra-
sion. The major factor that controls the durability
of concrete is its strength. The stronger is the con-
crete, the more durable it is. The chief factor con-
trolling the strength of concrete is the water-cement
ratio. However, the character, size, and grading
(distribution of particle sizes between the largest
permissible coarse and the smallest permissible
fine) of the aggregate also have important effects
on both strength and durability [25]. Both time and
temperature to bulk transport properties, which di-
rectly influence concrete durability. For pavements,
permeability and durability are intimately connected
[46].
48
Fig. 3. Concrete strength as a function of the water to cement ratio. Data from [23].
3. UTILIZATION OF HAZARDOUS
SOLID WASTE AND BY-PRODUCTS
In developing and industrial countries, large
amounts of industrial waste or by-products are
accumulated every year. Recycling of these mate-
rials is of increasing interest worldwide, due to the
high environmental impact of the cement and con-
crete industries [47]. For the production of cement
and concrete, very high amount of energy is
needed. About 7% CO2 is released to atmosphere
during cement production. It has negative influence
on ecology and future of human being [11,12]. Ac-
cording to industrial ecology concept for sustain-
able development, by-product of one industry may
be a raw material for other industry. Therefore, det-
rimental effects of both industries to the environ-
ment can be reduced. Harmful effects of concrete
on the environment can be reduced by producing
durable concrete and effective usage of resources.
Industrial by-products and solid wastes can be used
for this purpose [11,48]. For this reason, cost, du-
rability and environmental friendliness are impor-
tant criteria used in developing concrete technolo-
gies [49].
Concrete elements containing industrial by-
products or solid wastes as aggregate replacement,
Smita Badur and Rubina Chaudhary
should be investigated with regard to these degra-
dation causes, mechanical properties, and micro-
structure [50].
Normal concrete is made using sand and
stones, but lightweight concrete can be made us-
ing industrial by-products such as expanded slag,
clay, and sludge as aggregates. It is more difficult
to achieve high strength with weaker aggregate
[21,25].
3.1. By-products
Industrial by-product (class F - fly ash, slag) can
be used in large amount as replacement material
of cement in concrete. It can be added in a quan-
tity of 10% to about 35% by weight of cement. It
will be very beneficial in reducing CO2 emission
during production of cement, preventing the global
warming [11,12]. The cement companies have the
necessary expertise to mix suitable quantity of fly
ash in Portland cement and blend properly [10]; fly
ash should never be added at site. Fly ash can
help with our solid waste problems, and it reduces
overall energy use. While fly ash is sometimes used
as a source of silica in cement production, a more
common use is in concrete mixture as a substitute
Utilization of hazardous wastes and by-products as a green concrete material through...
for some of the cement. Fly ash, or pozzolan, can
readily be substituted for 15% to 35% of the ce-
ment in concrete mixes, according to the U.S.EPA
[2] (Environmental Protection Agency). For some
applications, fly ash content can be up to 70%.
Thus, fly ash today accounts for about 9% of the
cement mix in concrete. Water absorption, coeffi-
cient of water and chloride diffusion co-efficient was
less in fly ash concrete [51].
If the class C fly ash is used in the concrete mix
higher replacement level is possible. If the replace-
ment level is more then 25%, it shows marginal
reduction in the strength [52,53]. The grinding of
fly ash influences the strength development in con-
crete [42,43]. As with the Class C fly ash, the Class
F fly ash is also composed primarily of an amor-
phous phase and some crystalline components that
include alpha-quartz, Fe3O4, Al2SiO5, (Mg,Fe)2SiO4,
and CaO. The main difference was that Class F fly
ash contains no reactive crystalline reactive com-
ponent such as C3A. The acid-insoluble residue
(89%) of the fly ash consisted virtually of the same
phases detected before treatment except for CaO
[28]:
P = f / (c + f),
where, P is the percentage of fly ash, f = fly ash
content in kg, c = cement content in kg [10].
The use of fly ash in concrete is the highest-
volume application for fly ash. Concrete requires
less water when fly ash is used in place of cement,
resulting in less shrinkage and cracking [53]. Ac-
cording to U.S.EPA, 15% is a more accepted rate
when coal fly ash is used as a partial cement re-
placement as an admixture in concrete [2,54].
C. Natarajan reported M20 and M30 grade of
concrete mixes having different replacement level
of cement with low calcium fly ash [10]. Compres-
sive strength (Rc) values at 3-28 days curing pe-
riod shows a fine relationship between Rc value
and the logarithm curing time for fly ash/cement
mortar at different temperature [42].
C. D. Ati [53] carried out laboratory scale study
concrete mixtures were prepared by the replace-
ment of 50 and 70% of cement with fly ash. The
range of water to cement ratio was from 0.28 to
0.34. The concrete mixture was cured at tempera-
ture of 20 °C at 65% relative humidity. It was con-
cluded that fly ash concrete showed higher strength
after 28 days. The efficiency factor K was defined
as the ratio of the mass of cement to the mass of
the fly ash when they had equivalent effect on the
water to cement ratio [55].
49
W
X = ,
C + KF + S
where, X is the water to cement ratio, W - water
content, C - cement content, F - fly ash content, S
- GBFS content, and K is the efficiency factor.
The cement efficiency factor of fly ash with re-
spect to water tightness or water permeability which
is approximately 0.3. There is no effect of cement
type and curing time. Efficiency factor has some
effect on concrete strength formula and it is de-
pendent on curing days and percent of replace-
ment [55,56]. Curing temperature is important fac-
tor increase in curing temperature yielded in com-
pressive strength for fly ash replacing percentages
[42,57].
Fly ash reacts with free lime after the hydration
to form calcium silicate hydrate, which is similar to
the tricalcium and dicalcium silicates formed in
cement curing. Through this process, fly ash in-
creases concrete strength, improves sulfate resis-
tance, decreases permeability, reduces the water
ratio required, and improves the workability of the
concrete. Fly ash with low sulfur and carbon con-
tain is better for concrete.
There are at least a dozen companies provid-
ing fly ash to concrete producers. Other industrial
waste products, including blast furnace slag, cin-
ders, and mill scale are sometimes substituted for
some of the aggregate in concrete mixes [58]. Fly
ash can be introduced in concrete directly, as a
separate ingredient at the concrete batch plant or,
can be blended with the ordinary portland cement
(OPC) to produce blended cement, usually called
portland pozzolana cement (PPC) in India. Fly ash
blended cements are produced by several cement
companies worldwide [21].
3.2. Waste materials
Research have investigated various properties of
concrete containing by-products and waste mate-
rials such as Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag
GBFS), Fly Ash (FA), Bottom Ash (BA), Silica
Fume, Waste Glass (WG) as mineral admixture,
aggregate replacement or binding material [59].
Study on possible usage of BA and GBFS in
production of plain concrete elements was per-
formed. It was reported that replacement of BA
decreases the unit weight of briquette. Usage of
BA makes feasible up to 30% partial replacement
of aggregate in production of briquettes. As GBFS/
Sand ratio increases in paving blocks, water ab-
50
sorption ratio increases too, while compression
strength and freeze–thaw resistance decreases.
However, these losses are under limit values; so,
the standards allow up to 30% replacement ratio
[50].
Heavy metals like Pb, Cd, and Cu leachate con-
centrations were below the analytical detection limit
of atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS).
Higher concentrations were measured for Cr, Zn,
and Fe. The quantity of Cr, Zn, and Fe leached
tended to increase when the initial concentration
of these metals and leachate pHs were growing.
For higher loading percentages, the Cr leached was
above U.S. EPA limits [45].
Partial substitution (15% or 30% by mass) of
cement by Sewage Sludge Ash (SSA) does not
strongly affect the strength of mortars cured at 40
°C for 3- to 28-day curing periods. High sulfur con-
tent in SSA does not have a decisive influence on
strength development. Fineness of SSA is an im-
portant parameter for strength development of
SSA/cement mortars: the coarsest fraction yields
the lowest strength values. SSA showed a greater
or similar contribution to mechanical development
than fly ashes at early ages, but they become less
efficient for longer term curing. CSGr and FSGr
increased remarkably with increasing SSA replace-
ment [60].
In this study sewage sludge was used as an
additive in order to develop new construction ma-
terials. For this purpose, several mixtures of sludge
cement calcium chloride and calcium hydroxide
were prepared and Stabilized/Solidified (S/S). Cal-
cium chloride and calcium hydroxide were used
as accelerating additives. XRD and SEM studies
were performed to determine the hydration prod-
ucts. The specimens were tested in order to deter-
mine their setting time and compressive strength
after 28 days. Furthermore, in order to investigate
the environmental compatibility of these new ma-
terials, Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedure
(TCLP) and CEN/TS 14405 tests were carried out
for the determination of heavy metals leaching [61].
Jarosite released from zinc metal extraction
process is hazardous in nature. Statistically de-
signed experiments on S/S sintered jarosite CCRs
products confirmed that the compressive strength
of jarosite bricks reached as high as 140 kg/cm2
with 14.5% water absorption capacity at the com-
bination of 3:1 ratio of jarosite and clay, respec-
tively, but, concentrations of all the toxic elements
recommended by U.S.EPA TCLP standard are not
within the permissible limits. The optimum mix de-
Smita Badur and Rubina Chaudhary
sign of 2:1 with 15% fly ash was found to be the
intermediate condition to have satisfactory com-
pressive strength [2,62].
The addition of pozzolans or slag modified the
microstructure. The outer CSH appeared less fibril-
lar and the cement matrix was less porous at ear-
lier ages with use of silica fume or metakaolin. The
effect of this was a reduced rate of leaching of the
alkali hydroxide from the pore fluid, with which the
silica fume specimen appeared to slow the expan-
sion process, but did not prevent expansion [63].
Another study was performed to assess whether
the Stabilization/Solidification (S/S) technology can
be applied for treatment of “real” refinery oily sludge
contaminated by heavy metals. The performance
of stabilized wastes is generally measured in terms
of leaching and extraction tests. The samples were
cured at approximately 24 °C in the laboratory for
28 days [64]. As a result, the effects of replace-
ment of cement (by mass) with three percentages
of fly ash and the effects of addition of natural san
fibers on the different parameters and impact
strength of fly ash concrete. San fibers belong to
the category of ‘‘natural bast fibers.’’ It is also known
as “sunn hemp”. A control mixture of proportions
1:1.4:2.19 with W/Cm of 0.47. Cement was re-
placed with three percentages (35%, 45%, and
55%) of class F fly ash. Three percentages of san
fibers (0.25%, 0.50%, and 0.75%) having 25-mm
length were used. Addition of san fibers reduced
the workability; did not significantly affect the com-
pressive strength; increased the splitting tensile
strength and flexural strength, and tremendously
enhanced the impact strength of fly ash concrete
as the percentage of fibers increased [65].
This study also investigated the possibilities of
plain concrete containing dry sludge. The S/S
mechanisms for sludge from treatment plants in a
Portland cement matrix have previously been
evaluated in [1, 5-7,66].
3.3. Admixtures
Industrial waste works with Mineral admixtures in
concrete are summarized in [67].
Mineral admixtures used in concrete were fly
ash, metakaolin, GGBS, and silica fume since
many important structures built with silica fume in
concrete are used for durability aspects [68].
S. Asavapisit and D. Chotklang [45] investigated
the potential for utilization of alkali activated (Pul-
verized Fuel Ash) PFA as solidified binder to treat
electroplating sludge. The early strength develop-
Utilization of hazardous wastes and by-products as a green concrete material through... 51

ment of lime PFA cements in the presence of 3.4. Water

Na2SiO3 and Na2CO3 was considerably higher than
The absorption capacity tends to increase with an
the strength development of those without these
increase in sludge content. This indicates that as
compounds. The maximum strength development
sludge is added, the capacity to hold water in-
was achieved at 4 and 8 wt.% dosages of Na2SiO3
creases together with a certain increase in the num-
and Na2CO3, respectively. Aluminum oxide used
ber of cavities inside the concrete. The porosity of
as a chemical admixture (10-15% by weight of ce-
the sludge resulted in the concrete having a greater
ment) is able to reduce 30% of free chloride [43].
absorption capacity. This in turn increased until the
Addition of fly ash gave measurable increase
age of 90 days, when it decreased. This is because
in strength with metakaolin (MK) [69]. MK concrete
once the concrete acquires greater hardness and
shows more loss and possessed lower residual
resistance, it requires less water and is not able to
strength as compared with other concretes [70].
assimilate it as well as it had done initially [66].
A new highly effective alkali activator like SFA
The strength of concrete is very much depen-
(Silica Fume Activator) showed high value of the
dent upon the hydration reaction just discussed.
compressive strength after 28 days curing than
Water plays a critical role, particularly the amount
used activator like sodium hydroxide, sodium car-
used. The strength of concrete increases when less
bonate, and water glass [71]. Calcium hydroxide
water is used to make concrete (Fig.2). The hy-
and ettringite, the main products of cement hydra-
dration reaction itself consumes a specific amount
tion, are characteristic products of the early ages
of water. Concrete is actually mixed with more water
of the curing process, where ettringite formation
than is needed for the hydration reactions. This
also favors the compressive strength. The best
extra water is added to give concrete sufficient
results were observed for the samples containing
workability. Flowing concrete is desired to achieve
3% CaCl2 and 2% Ca(OH)2 [61].
proper filling and composition of the forms [23].
The alkali activation of metakaolin is a way of
producing high strength cementitious materials.
The processing of these materials has been the 3.5. Engineering properties of
subject of numerous investigations. This tendency wastes and by-products bearing
was most pronounced in those samples cured in concrete
sodium sulfate solutions. This behavior may be
The performance of concrete is measured in terms
related to the change in microstructure of the
of mechanical, physical, chemical properties.
cementitious matrix of the mortars cured longer
than 90 days. Some of the amorphous material
3.5.1. Unconfined compressive
present had crystallized to a zeolite-like material
belonging to the faujasite family of zeolites [72]. strength (ucs)
Both the produced and commercial metakaolin Compressive strength development of cement
indicate a similar behavior concerning the strength paste is strongly affected by the volume of CSH
development and the corrosion resistance. The formed during cement hydration. The 28 day com-
metakaolin improves the compressive strength and pressive strengths were measured for the pastes
the 10% w/w addition shows the optimum contri- made from OPC/SF, OPC/MK, and OPC/low-cal-
bution to the strength development. The use of cium fly ash at various W/S ratios [74].
metakaolin, either as a sand replacement up to 20% The high volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete
w/w, or as a cement replacement up to 10% w/w, showed satisfactory compressive and tensile
improves the corrosion behavior of mortar speci- strength at age of 1 day. It also concluded that high
mens [73]. volume fly ash concrete showed higher strength
than OPC concrete at 28 day and beyond [53].
3.3.1. Superplasticizers Isa Yuksel and Turhan Bilir [50] suggested that
when GBFS/Sand goes beyond 30%, compression
The superplasticizers made possible to use fly ash,
strength increases again in paving block speci-
slag, silica fume, and many other industrial by-prod-
mens. As the replacement of BA/sand and GBFS/
ucts and waste materials. Addition of fly ash de-
Sand increases in between 50% and 100% substi-
creases the strength, increases the desired work-
tution ratios, compression strength value could not
ability of concrete; Superplasticizer/Cementitious
be reached in control specimen’s strength, but got
ratio of 0.015 was reported in [65].
very close results.
52
Concrete is one of the most important construc-
tion materials. It is comparatively economical, easy
to make, offers continuity and solidity, and can be
effectively bonded with other materials. The keys
to good quality concrete are the raw materials re-
quired to make concrete and the mix design as
specified [24]. The test results indicated that the
replacement of cement with fly ash increased the
workability (Slump and Vebe time), decreased com-
pressive strength of plain (control) concrete [65].
3.5.2 Durability [freezing thawing
resistance]
Authors of [24,75] discussed strength and some
durability characteristics of the concrete contain-
ing BA and high sulphate FA. The author of [50]
showed that usage of partially fine aggregate of
these industrial by-products has more beneficial
effects on durability characteristics of plain con-
crete elements. In this paper, potential usages of
BA in briquettes and GBFS in paving blocks and
kerbs as aggregate replacement were studied.
Production of a new briquette type, having similar
properties with normal briquette but lighter than it,
is aimed by using these byproducts and solid
wastes. Also, development of durability properties
of paving blocks and kerbs were objected.
Superplasticisers were used to improve the
durability. Curing time and curing method affected
the durability of concrete [42,57,76]. The maximum
durability is reached when typical concrete ingre-
dients are mixed at room temperature. Therefore,
the relative amounts of the mineral phases in ce-
ment reacted at various temperatures can be cal-
culated. It was shown that both time and tempera-
ture affect to bulk transport properties, which di-
rectly influence concrete durability. For pavements,
permeability and durability are intimately connected
[29,77].
The main aspects of the concrete performance
that will be improved by the use of fly ash are in-
creased long-term strength and reduced perme-
ability of the concrete resulting in potentially better
durability. The use of fly ash in concrete can also
address some specific durability issues such as
sulphate attack and alkali silica reaction. However,
a few additional precautions have to be taken to
insure that the fly ash concrete will meet all the
performance criteria [75].
This study was to evaluate an alternative final
destination for the growing production of sludge
from sewage treatment plants. The compressive
strength after 7 days provided us with some clear
Smita Badur and Rubina Chaudhary
results indicating that the strength decreased ap-
preciably as the proportion of sludge increased. For
all the different mixtures, the compressive strength
after 28 days increased in comparison with that of
the previous period, but not uniformly. After 90 days,
the compressive strength had recovered and, for
example, the specimens containing 10% sludge
reached 58% of the compressive strength of the
reference concrete, and those containing 2.5%
sludge reached 78% of the reference value [66].
3.6. Chemical properties of wastes
and by-products bearing
concrete
3.6.1. Leachability of hazardous
substances
Metal leaching from the solidified wastes was as-
sessed using TCLP, Acid Neutralization Capacity
(ANC) and Diffusion as defined by the U.S. EPA,
on the samples cured for 3, 7, 28, 90 days.
Metal concentrations in the leachates increased
as the initial metal concentration was increasing in
the solidified wastes, but there is no linear relation-
ship between the amount of metal leached and the
initial concentration. The solidified waste matrices
to neutralize acid were reduced. Pb, Cd, and Cu
concentrations were below analytical detection limit
of AAS. In addition, metal leaching from the solidi-
fied wastes with 8 wt.% Na2CO3 was found in a
lower concentration than from those with 4 wt.%
Na2SiO3. This is likely because leachate pHs from
the solidified wastes with 8 wt.% Na2CO3 ranged
between 8.4 and 9.8, being adequate to stabilize
most metal hydroxides whose solubilities are
strongly pH dependent [78].
In order to assess the effectiveness of S/S, we
used the TCLP test was performed on the S/S
specimens. Pb and Cr concentrations in the
leachate were much lower than the respective
TCLP limits, indicating that S/S is a potential treat-
ment technology for refinery oily sludge. There are
no TCLP limits for Cu and Ni due to lack of avail-
able data with respect to health effects and fate
and transport in the environment, at the time U.S.
regulations were passed. The TCLP extract con-
centrations of these metals for the solidified sludge
were very low, i.e., <0.4 mg/L for Cu and <2.9 mg/
L for Ni [64].
Radu Barnaa et al. [73] carried out laboratory
scale study on the investigation of the influence of
the Liquid/Solid (L/S) leaching conditions on release
of different chemical species from a reference po-
Utilization of hazardous wastes and by-products as a green concrete material through...
Water Cement Ratio
Fig. 4. Compressive strength gain with curing age of days. Data from [25].
rous material obtained by solidification of PbO and
CdO with Portland cement. In order to determine
the influence of laboratory leaching conditions on
the release of different chemical species (NaC, KC,
Ca2C, Pb2C, Cd2C, and SO2K4) contained in a po-
rous reference material obtained by solidification
of PbO and CdO with Portland cement. This ap-
proach allowed assessing the pH influence on the
dissolution of pollutants and the initial pore solu-
tion composition were assessed by applying a
methodology consisting of two equilibrium leach-
ing tests, the ANC and the Pore Water (PW) tests
and geochemical modeling. The influence of the
sample shape (monolithic) and elute hydrodynam-
ics on the leaching of the target elements was also
assessed. The comparison criteria were the elute
saturation state, the cumulative release, and the
released flux. It would conduct that evaluate a par-
ticular concrete formulation before predicting its
performance in a special acid environment is nec-
essary. At least, under certain circumstances, the
addition of FA, SF, or MK can improve the acid re-
sistance of concrete [74].
The solidified refinery oily sludge waste sample
was ground to pass a 150 mm sieve. Each sample
was subdivided into 11 sub samples, each of 3 g in
weight. Each sub sample was placed in increasing
amount of nitric acid (2N). Then the samples were
tumbled strongly at room temperature for 48 h to
reach equilibrium. The acid neutralizing capacity
53
of the S/S wastes depends mainly on the type of
waste and, to a lesser degree, on the type of binder
agent, since cement types for each S/S waste re-
veal similar behavior to each other. The pH of the
leachate produced from a S/S waste is directly af-
fected by the ANC of the waste. Since heavy metal
leaching is pH dependent, the ANC test might con-
stitute a rapid qualitative prediction method for po-
tential leaching of metals contained in the waste
[64].
The author performed time dependent diffusion
test. The diffusion coefficients (m) values for the
concretes with various replacement levels of silica
fume and slag. The results for the time dependent
diffusion coefficients based on total time, or mtotal
values. The total time method yields the lowest m
value, while the effective time approach of Stanish
and Thomas yields the highest. The initial diffu-
sion coefficients (28 day) are equal, but the sec-
ondary hydration effect in concrete containing blast
furnace slag leads to a greater reduction in diffu-
sion with time. The determination of diffusion coef-
ficients and their time dependant behavior has an
evident effect on the estimated time to corrosion
[80,81].
3.6.2. Porosity and permeability
Permeability is closely related with strength and W/
C ratio. Micro cracks in the initial stage are so small
that they may not increase the permeability. But
Table 2. Factors influencing developed concrete with differrent wastes and by-productes.

54
S. No. Type of waste Waste or Curing days Admixture Admixture % Water/Cement Waste/Binder Compressive References No.
or by-products by-products % Ratio Ratio Strength (MPa)

1. Fly ash 20 7,28 Silica fume, Metakaolin 10, 30 0.33 0.2 108-127 82 (HSC)
2. Fly ash 20 7,28 Metakaolin 20 0.40 0.2 58.4 (NSC)
3. - - 7,28 CaCl22H2O 10-30 0.36-0.40 - 1100 (kPa) 60
Ca(OH)2
4. Fly ash 16.5 g 7,28 Silica fume, Metakaolin 16.5 g 0.4,0.45 0.6,1.6 72-90 73
5. RHA, PA 10 - 30 1,3,7,28, Cr(OH)3, Fe(OH)3, >25 0.45-0.70 0.1-0.3 89.37 106
51,90,180 Zn(OH)3
6. SA, SMW 20 3,5,7,21,28, Ca(OH)2,lime stone 80 0.38 0.2-1 70-100 93
28,51,90
7. PFyA 70 1,3,5,7,21, Lime, Na2SiO3, Na2CO3 30, 4, 8 0.5 0.1-0.5 67–200 79
28.51,91
8. Fly ash 40 - 60 7,28 Superplasticizer 4.5-5.1 0.32-0.42 0.68,1,1.5 41 54 (HSC)
liters/cu.yd
9. Fly ash, Slag 57, 8 - 35 13,5,7,21,28, Silica fume 7, 8, 12 0.30±0.01 1.3,0.4,0.5, 0.08 87.5-112.3 10
51,91,151,
265-3650
10. GBFS, Fly ash 15 - 60 7,14,28 - - 0.3-0.4 0.42 15.91-51.48 51
11. GBFS, BA 20 - 50 28 Silica fume, waste glass 2.08,2.04 0.5,0.32,0.47 4.1-4.8 42.5 50
12. Electroplating 25 7, 28 Lime 10 1 0.5 35 108
sludge
13. - - 3 - 28 NaCl, Al2O3 3, 10 0.6 - 36.67 43
14. Hazardous 10, 25 28 Clay 25, 40, .45 - .65 0.1, 0.25 250 Kg/m2 104
Wastes, Fly ash 50, 90

Smita Badur and Rubina Chaudhary

15. Sludge 15 3, 7, 28 - - 0.4,0.5 0.15 Equal to control 107
16. Sludge & PFuA 0, 10, 20, 30 1-28-91 - - 0.5 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 450, 80, 42
75 Kg/m2
17. - - 3, 7, 28, 90 Silica fume, Ca(OH) 2 0 - 30 0.40 0.35, 0.4, 55, 62 109
0.45, 0.50
18. POFA 10, 20, 30, 40 28, 90, 364 Lime stone - 0.7, 0.72, 0.77, 0.1, 0.25, 30 – 37.6 110
0.87, 0.95 0.42, 1.5
19. Sludge 2.5, 5, 10 7 - 90 Melcret PF - 75 1.68 0.55 0.1 18 - 32 65
20. Fly ash, 35,45,55 28 Centriplast FF90 0.015 0.47 ± 0.02 0.35, 0.45, 0.55 26.7, 23.1 64
San fiber 0.25,0.50,0.75 (melamine formaldehyde)

Captions: HSC = High Strength Concrete, NSC = Normal Strength Concrete, EAF = Electrical Arc Furnace, BFS = Blast Furnace Slag, SA = Sludge Ash, RHA = Rice
Husk Ash, PFyA = Pulverize Fly Ash, SMW = Steel Making Waste, PA = Plating Sludge, BA = Bottom Ash, GBFS = Granulated Blast Furnace Slag, PFuA = Pulverized
Fuel Ash, GFA = Ground fly Ashes
Utilization of hazardous wastes and by-products as a green concrete material through...
propagation of micro cracks with time due to dry-
ing shrinkage and externally applied load will in-
crease the permeability of the system [21]. Some
of the wastes and by-products also participate in
the structure of concrete. BA and GBFS increase
workability and carbonation depth and decreases
chloride permeability [50].
A model has been developed for relating po-
rosity to permeability. It was determined that a lin-
ear combination of lognormal distributions can be
used to describe pore structure. One of these dis-
tributions describes small pores, while the remain-
ing two describe porosity through which bulk trans-
port. The pore structure is very important for the
prediction of permeability. The results show that
permeability increases with temperature [70]. The
basic trend concerning the increase of porosity with
temperature was confirmed and the values of po-
rosity determined by both methods were closer to
each other with an increase of temperature. The
most dramatic increase in porosity was observed
at 600 °C in mercury porosimetric measurements.
The values of porosity at 1200 °C were the same
for the water vacuum saturation method and mer-
cury porosimetry. This indicates a significant
change of structure and disappearance of major
cracks not detectable by mercury porosimetry [82].
According to Sandrolini and Franzoni [81], fine
filler effects and actual W/C ratio reduction due to
fine solids contents in sludge water leads to the
reduction of concrete capillary water absorption and
porosity, and possibly improves the durability of
concrete. The porosity increased with an increase
of sludge content and tends to decrease as the
age of the concrete increased from 7 to 90 days.
The hardening of concrete has an effect of binding
the particles, which over time, decreases the num-
ber of pores [66,84].
Poor dispersion and inhomogeneity during mix-
ing and placing may cause the cement particles to
coagulate and cluster in the mix water, resulting in
alternating regions of dense and high porosity hard-
ened paste, even in instances where the use of a
low W/C ratio was intended to provide an ultimately
high density microstructure [85]. The water not con-
sumed in the hydration reaction will remain in the
microstructure pore space. These pores make the
concrete weaker due to the lack of strength form-
ing CSH bonds [23].
3.6.2.1. Chloride permeability
The resistance to chloride ion penetration and
transport of concretes is an important feature for
55
concrete durability. ASHTO T-227 Concrete and
stripped mortar samples are taken from concrete
mixtures cured for 28 days. A mortar shows higher
chloride permeability in addition at constant cement
content; the charges passed increase with decreas-
ing the volume of sand in the mortar. At constant
cement content, there is a direct correlation be-
tween the charge passed through concrete and the
fine sand to coarse aggregate ratio. Higher W/C
ratio gives higher charge passage through both
concretes and mortars. Chloride permeability takes
place primarily through the cement matrix [46]. The
effects of various pozzolans and water to cement-
ing materials ratios are clearly seen in the chloride
diffusion values presented. Initial chloride diffusion
values are higher in concrete mixtures at the higher
water to cement ratio of 0.40 without the addition
of pozzolans. The chloride diffusion coefficient re-
duces more dramatically in concrete mixtures con-
taining pozzolans showing their long-term hydra-
tion properties [80].
The experimental work included in the current
program was directed towards assessment of re-
sistance of concrete to chloride permeability. The
results are expected to be useful in connection with
water permeability. The technique is similar to that
described in method for measuring the chloride
permeability under the effect of electric field [84].
3.6.3. Sulphate corrosion
The S/Ca (Sulphate/Calcium) ratios are much
higher than those of 0.01–0.04 commonly found in
pastes cured at ordinary temperatures [85,86].
Most of the Al3+ present in the CSH appears to
be primarily substituted for Si4+, [87,88] whereas
the sulphate incorporated into the CSH adsorbed
[89]. With moist storage, sulphate can be desorbed
from the CSH. The mean S/Ca ratio of the CSH
formed during the heat curing typically decreases
to values of about 0.02–0.03 during storage
[87,90,91] which is similar to that of the CSH that
forms later. A significant amount of sulphate was
taken up by the CSH during heat curing, both with
mixtures containing only Portland cement as the
binder and with partial amounts of SF, MK, BFS,
and FS. The CSH acts like a cache and this sul-
phate was later released when the specimens were
exposed to moisture at ambient temperature [92].
Higher percentages of metakaolin decrease the
corrosion resistance [73]. Sodium sulfate attack
of portland cement paste (15 mmol/l) has been
presented by the author. Surface abrasion is an
56
important durability characteristic for paving blocks
[50].
The author discussed that calcium leaching in
sulfate environment presents similar kinetics with
respect to calcium leaching in pure de-ionized wa-
ter. The precipitation of significant quantities of
ettringite and gypsum resulted in, the breakdown
of samples in presence of sulfates. Cracks were
found predominantly in zone 2, perpendicular and
parallel to the attacked surface, and partly filled
with gypsum. The initiation of cracking and failure
of the samples was found to depend significantly
on their thickness. The proper estimation of the
service life of concrete structures to sulfate attack
must therefore account for these marked scale
effects [93].
4. FACTORS AFFECTING CONCRETE
STRENGTH AND DURABILITY
4.1. Curing days
Curing pathways, days and temperature, are very
important factor for hardening of cement and con-
crete. Fresh concrete gains strength most rapidly
during the first 28 days due to hydration of cement,
which can take place only in the presence of wa-
ter. The final strength of concrete depends greatly
on the conditions of moisture and temperature dur-
ing this initial period. The maintenance of proper
moisture and temperature conditions during this
period is known as curing. The purpose of curing
is to prevent the loss of moisture in concrete due
to evaporation, thereby, to prevent the development
of high temperature gradient within the concrete,
and hence, plastic cracking. Curing can be done in
several ways. It was concluded that high volume
fly ash concrete showed higher strength than OPC
concrete at 28 day and beyond [53]. Moist curing is
most common. It consists of application of water
directly to the concrete or by means of continu-
ously saturated coverings of sand, straw or hessian
bags, etc. The curing should be done for about first
14 days of concreting [20,36-40].
Both the rate and degree of hydration, and the
resulting strength of the final concrete, depend on
the curing process that follows in placing and con-
solidating the plastic concrete (Fig. 4). By the stan-
dard and other controlled conditions one can as-
sess curing related properties such as maturity,
shrinkage, and degree of hydration. This period
depends on conditions like temperature, cement
type, and mix proportions. Degree of hydration and
CSH gel increased with the curing age [94]. The
Smita Badur and Rubina Chaudhary
strength of the concrete is related to the water to
cement mass ratio and curing conditions. A high
water to cement mass ratio yields a low strength
concrete. This is due to the increase in porosity
(space between particles) that is created with the
hydration process. Most concrete is made with
water to cement mass ratio ranging from 0.35 to
0.6. Time is also an important factor in determin-
ing concrete strength. Concrete hardens as time
passes. Remember that the hydration reactions get
slower and slower as the tricalcium silicate hydrate
forms. It takes a great deal of time (even years) for
all of the bonds to form, which determines
concrete’s strength. It is common to use a 28-day
test to determine the relative strength of concrete
[23].
4.2. Water to cement ratio (W/C)
Water plays an important role in the concrete
strength. Low water to cement ratio leads to high
strength but low workability. High water to cement
ratio leads to low strength, but good workability.
The physical characteristics of aggregates are
shape, texture, and size. These can indirectly af-
fect strength because they affect the workability of
the concrete. When the water to cement mass ra-
tio is increased, the concrete will weaken [23].
Water/cement ratio showed negative effect on com-
pressive strength of concrete [95,96]. The quantity
of water must not be more than 0.50 of the weight
of cement for most applications. Water percent-
age also depends on the type of sand (Table 1). A
large quantity of water is highly injurious for con-
crete as well as steel. This is the single reason for
the failure or poor quality of any reinforced con-
crete construction. More water means lesser
strength and lesser life of concrete [20,36-40,93].
Abrams [96] suggested a mathematical relation-
ship between concrete strength and water–cement
ratio:
A
fc ′ =
−X
X
= AB ,
B
where, fc’ is the compressive strength of the con-
crete, A and B are experimental parameters for a
given age, material, and cure conditions, and x is
W/C ratio by mass:
W
x = ,
C
where, W is the water content and C is the cement
content [22].
Utilization of hazardous wastes and by-products as a green concrete material through...
G. Appa Rao [94] in discussed the water/ce-
ment ratio negative effect on compressive strength.
Adopted cement/sand ratios were 1:2, 1:2.5, 1:3
and the water/cement ratio was from 0.30 to 0.65.
The compressive strength was measured at the
age of 3, 7, 28 days. Mainly W/C ratio is influenced
the strength of concrete. The W/C ratio described
the strength of concrete described by the “Abram’s
W/C ratio law”. Compressive strength decreases
as the C/S ratio and the w/c ratio increases.
4.3. Water absorption percentage
Water absorption percentage is an effective pa-
rameter for pure and mixed concrete. In the mixed
concrete it is very important. Waste absorption
percentage depends on the type of waste. Water
adsorption percentage increases with the increase
of waste (Table 1)[50,63]. Water absorption re-
duces the fine solid content and improves durabil-
ity [83].
4.4. Temperature variations
Changes in the temperature of concrete can cause
cracking. As the concrete gets hotter, it expands;
as concrete gets cooler, it contracts similarly to
many other materials. If the concrete tends to ex-
pand or contract, it will most likely crack [97].
Elevated temperature affects the properties of
concrete such as change in moisture content, de-
gree of hydration, and other features [34]. The de-
gree of hydration increases with time and tempera-
ture, but the degree of hydration was not increased
in significant amount after 28 day curing [98]. Fly
ash/cement cured at different temperatures (20 °C
and 40 °C curing temperature) shows significant
increase in compressive strength (Rc) of concrete
[34,42,57].
The concrete cured at 20 °C for 28 days had a
higher degree of cement hydration and lower cap-
illary porosity than the concrete cured in water of
the same temperature for 7 days followed by ex-
posure to outdoor air for 21 days, but had opposite
trend compared to the concrete cured in 35 °C
water for 7 days followed by exposure to outdoor
air. However, the differences in the degree of ce-
ment hydration and capillary porosity for the con-
crete cured in these different conditions were not
significant. This suggests that the reference thin
sections of concrete cured at 20 °C in moist condi-
tion for 28 days may be used to estimate the W/C
of concrete cured in a tropical environment for at
least 28 days, including 7 days moist curing with-
57
out the need to determine the degree of cement
hydration of concrete under investigation [34].
5. DISCUSSION
Landfilling is not a desirable option for the disposal
of solid hazardous waste materials. It is not a li-
able method because of future environmental costs
and problems associated with landfilling regulations
[99]. This method increases load of toxic metals
and other contaminants in the landfill, potentially
increasing the threat to ground water contamina-
tion. Increasing economic and financial factors also
dictate that industry should look forward to recy-
cling and reuse of waste material as a better op-
tion to landfilling [100].
Wastes and by-products can be used in addi-
tion to concrete without the need for large changes
in its preparation. Its granulometric properties indi-
cate that it can be used in fine sand in production.
Waste content of 10% or more cannot be used
because it significantly delays the setting of the
cement and reduces its mechanical properties,
especially in the short term. For all waste and by-
products contents, the strengths increase as the
curing time of the concrete increases [66]. Some
waste materials have 60-90% water holding capac-
ity, which is not beneficial for concrete [50,62]. In
the worst case the compressive strength was 4.5
Mpa. After 28 days the same concrete had reached
strength of 6 MPa and after 90 days, 18 MPa, which
would allow it to be used for road bases and sub-
bases, and as a filling material [7,9,10,12,14,28].
In general, it would be suitable for any application
that does not require high strengths, especially not
in the short term [32,42,45,50]. The porosity and
the absorption coefficient increase with an increase
in waste content and decrease as the curing time
increased [52,53,56,62]. The deformability of con-
crete also increases with the increase of waste
contents [61,62,67]. The density of the concrete
decreases with an increase in waste content and
increases as the curing time increases [24,69,94].
With reference to our previous study on con-
crete M15 [101] and geopolymer [99] the mixed
concrete is a desirable option to utilize or reuse of
solid hazardous waste materials. Solidified mate-
rials are weak and contain significantly less
cementitious materials and more water, for example
concrete. Due to waste addition, CSH hydration is
poisoned. In these situations, ettringite plays an
important role - it increases strength and durability
characteristics. UCS increases with a decrease of
crystalline phases [91,98].
58
It also affects the cost of construction cement
and sand very important and costly material. The
replacement of them by waste and by-products
gives an opportunity to manufacture economic con-
crete for the construction material.
The review concluded that the developed mixed
concrete showed high strength, improved sulfate
resistance, decreased permeability, reduced the
water ratio required, and improved the workability.
Partial substitution of solid hazardous wastes does
not strongly affect the strength of concrete and
other properties.
6. APPLICATION OF CONCRETE
Concrete serves as a better alternative for the uti-
lization or recycle of the solid hazardous waste
materials. Properties of mixed concrete can be
listed as follows:
Strength: different solid hazardous waste ma-
terials used in mixed concrete. It shows 70-85%
strength of pure concrete.
Durability: concrete shows long-term durability
by the use of mineral admixtures; many important
structures are manufactured using the concrete
with silica fume, which positively affects on dura-
bility aspects.
Leaching: about 85-90% of heavy metals and
other contaminants are solidified and stabilized in
the concrete matrix.
Mixed concrete named “Green concrete”. It is
used as filling materials, pavements and roadbeds,
etc. This concrete also affects the cost of construc-
tion comparable to pure concrete.
7. RECOMMENDATION
S/S technology (BDAT) can easily and cheaply
handles large quantities of waste materials and by-
products containing heavy metals, as an alterna-
tive to OPC (ordinary Portland cement). It is avail-
able world wide yet its utilization is still limited. The
continuing needs to use this economic and
enviromental-friendly waste management tech-
nique.
8. CONCLUSIONS
This mixed concrete is safe enough to be used in
environmental applications, like roadbeds, filling
materials, etc. Thus, due to the beneficial use of
the immobilized material, this type of industrial
wastes and by-products usability appears to offer
a promising way to improve sustainable environ-
ment in developing countries.
Smita Badur and Rubina Chaudhary
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author would like to thank Dr. Kavita Kabra
(Research Associate ar NEERI, Nagpur, India) for
fruitful discussion. The School of Ebergy and En-
vironmental Studies, Devi Ahilya University, Indore,
India, is greatefully acknowledged.
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